The St. John’s basketball team will be keeping one of its own as sophomore guard Lefteris Liotopoulos will be withdrawing his name from the transfer portal and returning to the Red Storm.
He made the announcement on social media Monday night.
“In the summer of 2024, I made a huge decision to leave my home and my family to become a Johnnie and grow as a player, a student, and a person. These past two seasons, with the constant support of my coaches, the everyday competition with my teammates, and the love of the St. John’s fans, made SJU feel like my second home.”
“After thinking through my options, I realized that there [Madison Square Garden] is the place where I want to thrive, and I trust Coach Pitino and the entire coaching staff to bring the best out of me,” he said.
Liotopolous saw his role marginally increase this season, averaging 7.7 minutes per contest as compared to 4.8 as a freshman. He averaged 2.9 points per game on 32.1-percent shooting from 3-point range (17-of-53) and should serve as key reserve off the bench for the Red Storm this season.
He posted back-to-back games of double-digit points for the first time in his career as St. John’s started a 13-game winning streak, scoring ten points in a road win over Butler and 17 points in a victory over Creighton in which he shot a combined 7-for-14 from 3-point range.
Lefteris Liotopolous joins a likely returning cast to St. John’s of Ruben Prey, Ian Jackson, and Casper Pohto although Tuesday is the final day players can enter the transfer portal.
Dylan Darling, Joson Sanon, Kelvin Odih, Imran Suljanovic, and Sadiku Ibine Ayo have already entered the portal from the Johnnies. Darling has committed to Grand Canyon, Suljanovic to New Mexico, and Ibine Ayo is returning to Iona.
Add us as a preferred source on Google